The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-08


the rattlesnake is asleep as they are most of
the time when coiled. 1t grabs the RATHER
just back of the head as a terrier does rat,
and holds on until the rattlesnake is stran-
gled to death
'"The rattlesnake has one other enemy"
said Mr.. w H. Bullard. "It would sound
like a lie if most of you, / Think, were not
familiar with it, All that it amounts to is
one of those manifestations of instinct in
birds which can't be explained. There's Il
bird in California which, in the middle and
north of the State, is called the trotting jay
or road-runner. 1t is large and special
variety of the jay, with long legs and high
topknot. It's as big as a young chicken.
Well, in the south of the State, these birds
are called 'choya-birds,' from the same
popularity that Ned spoke of, of building
birds, if they find rattlesnake coiled
and asleep, win fly TO the nearest choya and
pick up little branches in their bills and
come and drop them around the snake in a
circle. If he sleeps long enough he will
wake up to find himself entirely cooped up
in prickly box, which he can't get out of.
because the minute he attempts to crawl
over bit of choya the spines enter at the
curve Of the neck and hold him. The snake
stays there until he starves to death or is
killed by somebody who finds him. It's a
queer fact but there is no doubt whatever
of its TRUTH
Thus TAR the conversation had confined
itself to fact The romantic element began
to enter when one of the settlers rehearsed
a story from an English paper instancing
the extraordinary nerve of a man, an Eng
igh officer in India, who was waiting at the
mouth of gully, which was being beaten
for tiger. The tiger jumped from the
jungle into clear space about forty yards
in front of him. He fired and missed. The
tiger made leap toward him and landed.
He fired again, and the brute fell over
killed. His friends, who were amazed at
his first miss, understood when they saw
him drop his gun instantly upon firing the
second shot and seize snake which had
swarmed over his arm. He held it by the
neck and struck its head off with his knife.
1t was cobra, the deadliest of the Hindos-
tan reptiles. As he had raised his gun to
fire the first shot he had felt it around his
leg, and he had to choose between tiger and
cobra, but killed both.
This startling encounter put the company
on their mettle. Mr.. Billiard told of the
sub-tropical pithons, Mr.. Flood, Jr., of his
adventures with monkeys and anacondas in
Java, and the narratives took the color of
those stories which are abandoned by the
standard books on the reptilia and left to
the sensational weeklies to tell After sew
been an interested listener, took a hand.
He did not propose that the Senatorial toga
should be surpassed by ordinary dialogue
when it came to snake stories.
II was out in DAKOTA" he said, land
there was an old mining friend of mine came
to me and wanted me to look at a claim of
his. He was broke and had had pretty hard
luck, and | was willing to help him If |
could. He said he had a mighty good thing
tba+ ha IL H. n,Iaiy
and laid bare 3 foot ledge that was full of
free gold and looked steady, hanging wall
and foot wall solid and clearly marked.
Well, we went over to look at it, He had
couple of Cinnamon had done all
the work, and they had struck
six months before because he hadn't any
thing to pay 'em with. The hole hadn't
been touched since then, Well, there was no
water in the shaft, andsthe rope being good
| went down in the bucket to take look at
the ledge. had pick with me and he low
cred me. Only one could goodwin at a time,
and |, of course, had to go. as | was the man
that was doing the investigating. Well, the
candle carried went out on the way down,
and when the bucket touched started to
light it.
when / struck that match don't think
| was ever quite so scared in my life. You
newer ufdTQ Sutfn HlSSillS III Ill your DOTH
days The fact was, that hole was just
plump fun III Tattlesnakes. They were
coming nH oyer the sides of the bucket, and
their heads were sticking out of the crevices
all around noe, / knew was goner, but
holiAIed to the miner to hoist Before he
could start, one big, black fellow struck at
my hand, and fetched it, and before | could
get above them my hands and face were
bit, I don't know how many times 1t
was fearful There's nothing so horTi-
BILE as the feeling of a snake bite. Well
the miner got me to the surface, laid
me down and poured whisky into me as
fast as / could take it. We had about a
quart with us. Then he went to sucking
the wounds as best he could, and made me
chew up some tobacco and plaster it on
some of the others that he hadn't time
for. But my arms began to swell up pretty
fast and my face turned black, and began
to feel a little Eighty and deadly sick, p"
and the Senator nauseated at the reminis-
cence, shuddered and stopped with look
of disgust
But you are recovered, Senator" ven
tured one of the party, earnestly.
ooh, no." said the Senator. "That's was
the worst of it, l died"